Practical challenges in

Nutritional Support of

Pre & Post Liver Transplant

Daphnee.D.K

Head – Department of Dietetics

Apollo Hospitals, Chennai

Prevalence of Malnutrition

• 20% - Compensated liver disease

• >80% - Decompensated liver disease

• 100% - Await Liver Transplant

Antonio J. Sanchez; Mayo Clinic Foundation, 2006

Malnutrition in CLD - Cause

Algorithm content developed by John Anderson, PhD, and Sanford C. Garner, PhD, 2000. Updated by

Jeanette M. Hasse and Laura E. Matarese, 2002.

Abnormalities of Poor nutrient

metabolism intake

MALNUTRITION

Morbidity

Mortality

Malnutrition in CLD - Cause, Etiology

Causes Etiology

Reduced nutrient

intake

Decreased Intake

and anorexia

• Unpalatable Diets

( Na & H2O restriction )

•Disgeusia due to

micronutrient deficiencies

(Zn or Mg)

•Anorexia effect caused

by increased levels of

proinflammatory

cytokines and leptin

Malnutrition in CLD – Cause,Etiology Causes Etiology

Reduced nutrient intake

•Nausea & early satiety •Tense Ascites

•Gastroparesis

•Small bowel dismotility

•Bacterial over growth

•Starvation •Hospitalization

•Invasive diagnostic

procedure requiring fasting

•Gastrointestinal bleeding

and endoscopic therapies

Reduced Intestinal

absorption

•Maldigestion

•Bacterial over growth

•Diarrhea

•Pancreatic insufficiency in

Alcohol abuse and /or

Cholestasis)

•Drugs (i.e.,

nonabsorbable

disaccharides, antibiotics

and cholestyramine)

Causes Etiology

Altered Metabolism/

Expenditure

•Protein Catabolism

•Increased energy

expenditure

•Insulin resistance

•Increase fat turnover

• Reduced hepatic

protein synthesis and

increased protein

breakdown

•During ascites and

bacterial infections

•Hepatocellular

carcinoma

•Hyperinsulinemia and

reduced nonoxidative

glucose metabolism

•Increased lipolysis due

to more rapid transition

to starvation

•Fats are utilized as

alternative energy

source

Malnutrition in CLD – Cause, Etiology

Altered metabolism CHO

• Increased

Catabolic hormones (as not degraded by liver)

Gluconeogenesis

• Decreased

Post prandial glucose storage

Glycogen stores (accelerated starvation)

Accelerated Starvation Fat – major substrate for energy

72hrs of Starvation Vs Overnight fast

(Normal adult) (Cirrhotic pt)

Fat & Muscle

Breakdown

Increases Gluconeogenesis Muscle Wasting

Altered metabolism

Protein

• Imbalance in BCAA and aromatic amino acids Expected Ratio – 3.5:1 Decreased to 1:1 - increased cerebral uptake of aromatic amino acids - promoting the synthesis of false neurotransmitters •Muscle wasting

Fat

(preferred

fuel)

• Nocturnal fat metabolism - impaired synthesis

PUFA from EFA

• Decreased PUFA associated with severity of

malnutrition

Malnutrition in CLD - Pathophysiology

Algorithm content developed by John Anderson, PhD, and Sanford C. Garner, PhD, 2000. Updated

by Jeanette M. Hasse and Laura E. Matarese, 2002.

Nutrition Assessment

Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)

HISTORY

Weight change GI symptoms

(nausea,

vomiting,

diarrhea,

constipation)

Co-

morbidities

cont…

Muscle Wasting

& Fat stores

Dietary Intake

Physical

Activities

Guidelines for estimating fluid

weight (kg)

Category Ascites Odema

Minimal 2.2 1.0

Moderate 6.0 5.0

Severe 14.0 10.0

• Grade 1 (mild). Ascites is only detectable by ultrasound examination.

• Grade 2 (moderate). Ascites causing moderate symmetrical distension

of the abdomen

• Grade 3 (large). Ascites causing marked abdominal distension.

Fluid retention in ESLD &

relevance to nutrition

• Impairs food intake

• Energy expenditure

increases

• Negative nitrogen balance

Factors influencing the accuracy of common

indices used for nutritional assessment Body weight •Water restriction and fluid

accumulation

•Changes in body composition

Visceral proteins •Decreased liver synthesis

•Increased volume of distribution

Anthropometry •Fluid retention

Immunological status •Hypersplenism

•Abnormal immunological reactivity

Creatinine excretion

•Renal insufficiency

Bioelectrical impedance analysis

•Presence of ascites

Nutritional Goals

• Correct malnutrition

• Prevent metabolic complications

• Improve quality of life

• Reduce Perioperative complications

• Nutrition education – Individual care

plan

Nutritional Management - CLD

• Energy: 35 to 40 kcal/kg dry weight

BEE x 1.2 to 1.3, depending on degree of

malnutrition

CHO: 60 – 70 % of cals as complex & simple CHO

• Protein: 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg dry wt depending on degree

of malnutrition, malabsorption, metabolic stress

– To maintain

- Muscle mass

- Protein levels in the blood

ESPEN Guidelines on Enteral Nutrition: Liver disease 2006

• Hepatic Encephalopathy

- BCAA formula

• Fat: 25% to 40% of kcal

• Electrolytes: restrict sodium with edema or ascites

(2 - 4 g/day)

• Fluid: restrict fluid if hyponatremia is present

• Individualized

Nutritional Management - CLD

Practical Difficulties in meeting

Nutrition Prescription Study Design : Single Center,

Prospective study

Study Duration : May to August 2013

Setting : Liver ICU, Tertiary care

hospital, Chennai

Study Population : ESLD

Data Collected : Baseline demographics

Nutritional status

- Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)

- Nutrition Data

Baseline Demographics

Mean ± Std Range

Age (yrs) 45.4±9.32 30 - 58

Height (cms) 168.5±10.6 157 - 180

Weight (kg) 75.3±17.01 36 - 94

BMI (kg/m2) 26.45±5.08 14.61 - 32.86

MAC (cms) 26.08±4.25 18 - 32

MELD 19.6±4.46 11 - 23

Well Nourished 7%

Moderately Malnourished

93%

Baseline Nutritional Status

Child B 13%

Child C 87%

Classification - Child Pugh Score

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Calorie Protein

69

49

% Nutritional Target Achieved

Calorie Protein

How did we achieve

Nutrition Goals?

• Nutrition Monitoring

• Oral intake was monitored using a

food and fluid chart by the Nurses

• Calorie Count – done by the Dietitian

• Labs : Hb, Serum Albumin,

Lymphocytes, Na, K etc.,

Nutrition Monitoring – Oral diet

How did we achieve

Nutrition Goals?

• Nutrition Education

– Educated on the salt and fluid restrictions

– Emphasized on

• Increased caloric and protein intake

• Oral Nutrition Supplement (ONS)

• Nocturnal tube feed suggested if oral

intake is not adequate

Reasons for Deviation

• Salt & fluid restriction

• Fever, Infection & Abdominal Pain

• Hepatic encephalopathy

• Nausea

• Procedures

General recommendations

• Small frequent meals

• Monitor calorie count

• TPN - GI dysfunction is present

• Aggressive nutrition support

- Highly Individualized

- Minimize catabolism

- Slow the deterioration of

nutritional status

Post -operative state

Immediate Post - operative state

Nutrition Status is affected by

• Graft function

• Pre - existing malnutrition

• The stress response to surgery

• Catabolic effects of high dose steroids

Nutrition Care Plan

• Post OP Nutrient recommendations

Energy – 1.2 – 1.3 times BEE

• BEE using Harris Benedict equation

• AEE : 1.3×BEE

Protein - 1.3 – 2g / kg / day

• American Association for the Study of Liver Disease

Effect of Nutrition Support in the post

liver transplant Indian Adult Patients

Study design : Single centre, Prospective

Study period : Jan - Sep’13

Sampling technique: Random

Sample size : 27 subjects

Setting : Liver unit, Tertiary care hospital

Inclusion criteria : All Indian adults who underwent

transplant for the first time

Exclusion criteria : All paediatric and international pts

On admission, the demographic, biochemical, nutritional,

and anthropometric details were noted

Baseline Characteristics

Characteristics of Patients

Mean±Std Range

Age(yrs) 47.5±9.59 25-60

Height(cms) 163.6±10.05 143-182

Weight(Kg) 69.5±13.56 36-95.5

BMI(Kg/m2) 26.01±5.14 14.79-38.94

MAC(cms) 25.8±4.13 18-35

MELD 18.1±3.78 11 - 23

A/G Ratio 0.9±0.36 0.3 - 1.8

Objectives

• To study the effect of

– disease severity on nutritional status and

outcomes

– nutritional intervention in A/G ratio, LOS in

ICU and hospital and nutritional status of the

patients

– ethanol and non-ethanol related ESLD and

type of transplant (DDLT and LDLT) in

nutritional status and outcome

DDLT 70%

LDLT 30%

Type of Liver Transplant

Ethanol 50%

Cryptogenic 25%

HBV 4%

HCC 4%

HCV 17%

Type of Diagnosis

Well Nourished 4%

Moderately Malnourished

96%

Baseline Nutritional Status

Child B 33%

Child C 67%

Classification - Child Pugh Score

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Day-1 Day-3 Day-5 Day-7 Day of Discharge

37.78

68.93

82.4 89.78

94.9

% C

alo

rie A

ch

ieved

Days

% Calorie Achieved

Day-1 Day-3 Day-5 Day-7 Day of Discharge

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Day-1 Day-3 Day-5 Day-7 Day of Discharge

20.69

51.25

64.4

72.5 80.32

% P

rote

in A

ch

ieved

Days

% Protein Achieved

Day-1 Day-3 Day-5 Day-7 Day of Discharge

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Calorie Protein

74.3%

60.3%

Target Vs Achieved Calorie Protein

Results • Strong correlation between the disease severity score

(child) and the nutritional status (SGA) of the patients

• There was an improvement in weight and A/G ratio of

the patients after nutritional intervention and was

significant (p<0.001)

• Length of stay in ICU and Hospital were 9.9+/6.9 and

16.07+/10.78 respectively

• LOS of child - C class in the hospital (17.5 days) was

comparatively higher than the child - B class (13.1

days)

• There is a strong correlation between the ethanol

intake and the nutritional status (SGA) of the patients

(p< 0.014)

Conclusion

• A protocolized nutritional support and

close monitoring reduced the risk of

adverse outcomes in our study population

How did we achieve

Nutrition Goals?

• Nutrition Monitoring

• Oral intake was monitored using a

food and fluid chart by the Nurses

• Calorie Count – done by the Dietitian

• Labs : Hb, Serum Albumin,

Lymphocytes, Na, K etc.,

• Protocolized treatment plan

How did we achieve

Nutrition Goals?

• Nutrition Education

– Post transplant diet education

– Emphasized on

• Increased caloric and protein intake

• Oral Nutrition Supplement (ONS)

• Food hygiene and safety

Reasons for Deviation

• Surgical stress

• Fever, Infection & Abdominal Pain

• Nausea & Vomiting

• Procedures

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